Schnapp, Land, Fluss!
Schnapp, Land, Fluss! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
At a Glance
- Players: 2–6
- Ages: 8 and up
- Duration: about 15 minutes
- Contents: 50 playing cards
Each card shows letters on one side and a category on the other.
Setup
Turn all cards to the letter side and shuffle them. Place the top twelve cards letter-side up in the middle of the table. Set the remaining cards aside as the draw pile.
Tip: The letter card "X/Y" is particularly difficult. When playing with children for the first time, it is recommended to remove this card from the game entirely.
Gameplay
The player whose first name (initial letter) comes first in the alphabet turns over one of the twelve cards so that it now shows a category.
Play begins immediately as soon as the category is revealed. Everyone plays at the same time; there is no turn order. Each player tries to find a term that fits the revealed category. The term must begin with the same letter as one of the letter cards on the table. In the example below, Hamster, Affe (monkey) or Jaguar would all be possible.
Once a player has found a term, they call it out loudly and simultaneously slap the corresponding letter card with their hand. That player may then take the card as a prize.
Example: Florian slaps the "L" and says "Leopard." He takes the "L" card as his prize and places it in front of him.
Play continues immediately, and everyone again looks for a matching term at the same time. No new category is turned over.
Play continues in this way until all letters have been won and only the category card remains on the table.
No Matching Term
If none of the players finds a matching term, first turn the category card back to its letter side, then turn over a different letter card to its category side. Play then continues.
Attention: If, despite the new category, nobody can find a term, new cards are turned over from the draw pile until there are again twelve cards in the middle of the table.
Revealing New Letters
If only the category card remains in the middle of the table, new cards are turned over from the draw pile. To do this, first place eleven more letter cards in the middle of the table. Then turn the previous category card to its letter side, and turn over another letter card to its category side. Play then continues immediately.
If the draw pile no longer has enough cards for eleven letter cards, only the cards that are still there are revealed.
Mistakes?
If a player slaps a letter card but either cannot name a term for the category, or names one that begins with a different letter, that player has made a mistake.
This player must sit out until a fellow player has won a card. In addition, the player must hand over one letter card they have already won (if they have one) as a penalty, and set it aside.
End of Game
As soon as the draw pile has been used up and no term can be found any more, the game ends.
Each blue letter card is worth one point, each red letter card two points. All players add up the points of their letters. The player with the most points overall is the winner.
Several rounds: Schnapp, Land, Fluss! is also great fun if the players agree to play several rounds. The player who has the highest total score at the end is the winner.
Variant: With a Game Leader
You can also play with a game leader. This suits, for example, children's birthday parties. The setup stays the same, except that the game leader turns over the category card each time. The others can concentrate fully on finding terms. The rest of the gameplay stays the same.
Variant: Only One Card at a Time
The setup is very similar. Twelve letter cards are placed face up in the middle of the table. The remaining cards are placed letter-side up as a draw pile.
First round: Any one of the twelve letter cards in the middle is turned to its category side, and play begins immediately. Everyone again plays at the same time, without turn order. Whoever knows a term for the revealed category that begins with one of the letters on the table slaps the letter card immediately and takes it as a prize.
Note: In this variant only the fastest player receives a card as a prize. If other players then name a matching term, they go away empty-handed.
Following rounds: The category card is turned to its letter side, and the top card of the draw pile is placed in the middle with its category side up. As soon as this card is lying there, play continues.
Example: The category "In the Sea" (Im Meer) is revealed. Heiko slaps the "D" and says "Delfin" (dolphin). Heiko takes the "D" immediately as his prize and places it in front of him. The "In the Sea" card is turned to its letter side. Then the top card of the draw pile is turned over and placed in the middle as the new category card.
This variant is also played until the draw pile is used up. The last category is still played, after which points are counted. Each blue letter card is worth one point and each red letter card two points, as in the basic game. The player with the most points overall is the winner. In case of a tie, there are several winners.
Notes on Categories
In principle, the terms sought are those that are characteristic of the category. Especially for the categories In the Kitchen, In the Air, In the Circus, At School, At the Doctor's and In the Sea, only terms that are truly characteristic of that category count. Terms that could apply to almost anything, such as Mensch (human being) or Sonnenstrahl (sunbeam), do not count.